Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Reboot Series)
Franz Oberhauser, later known as Ernst Stavro Blofeld, is the overarching antagonist in the rebooted James Bond series, serving as the founder of the titular organization. He is James Bond's foster brother and archenemy, manipulating behind the scenes of many of Bond's past run-ins, including Le Chiffre, Dominic Greene and Raoul Silva. He is the main antagonist of Spectre, and will return in No Time to Die. He was portrayed by the two-time Academy Award winning actor Christoph Waltz, who also played Mandrake in 20th Century Fox/Blue Sky's Epic, Bert Hanson in Horrible Bosses 2, Chudnofsky in The Green Hornet, Léon Rom in The Legend of Tarzan, Walter Keane in Big Eyes, Cardinal Richelieu in The Three Musketeers ''and Hans Landa in ''Inglorious Basterds. Biography Beginnings Franz Oberhauser was born in the 1960s as the son of an Austrian couple named Hannes Oberhauser and Trudi Blofeld-Oberhauser, and his family were close friends of James Bond's parents. When James' parents died in a climbing accident, the Oberhauser family decided to adopt James, and Hannes instructed Franz to treat James like a brother. However, Franz grew to hate and envy James, believing his father loved Bond more than him. At one point, Hannes and Franz were involved in an avalanche in which both of them apparently died. However, in truth, Franz killed his father out of jealousy against James and staged his own death while adopting his mother's maiden name. As the years went by while James grew up to become one of MI6's best agents in the field, Blofeld went on to form a mysterious but notorious criminal organization known as SPECTRE. Under Blofeld's leadership, the organization became an extremely powerful group while retaining its complete anonymity to the world, staging many terrorist attacks throughout the years. ''Casino Royale'' It was implied that Blofeld created the terrorist organization Quantum and employed Mr. White as its figurehead to covert SPECTRE's attacks. He also tasked Le Chiffre into funding for the sabotage of an aerospace company through the funds of a warlord named Steven Obanno, though this was foiled by James, resulting the deaths of Obanno and Le Chiffre. Blofeld also sent Mr. White to steal back the casino winnings that resulted Vesper Lynd's death, though Mr. White was taken into custody by Bond afterwards. ''Quantum of Solace'' Following Mr. White's escape from MI6 custody, it was implied that Blofeld assigned Dominic Greene of Greene Planet to help support the overthrow of the Bolivian government for the exiled general Luiz Medrano in exchange for a portion of the land for Quantum to utilize its resources. However, Bond foiled this in revenge for the deaths of Rene Mathis and Strawberry Fields, resulting Medrano's death at the hands of Camille Montes while Greene is interrogated by Bond about all of Quantum's secrets. Following Yusef Kabira's arrest, it can be implied that Blofeld would later send several of his men to execute Greene in the Bolivian desert as punishment for spilling the beans of Quantum, resulting its dissolution. ''Skyfall'' It was implied that Blofeld sent over Raoul Silva to discredit MI6 and kill M for her previous action of turning Silva over to the Chinese. The plan was a success as M would later die to her injuries inflicted by Silva and his men, but not before Bond manages to kill Silva and his men. ''Spectre'' Attending a Funeral Blofeld first appeared briefly at the funeral of Marco Sciarra (one of SPECTRE's assassins) and Bond spots him, though without recognizing his face. Blofeld later appears at the SPECTRE meeting in Rome, where, after allowing Bond a short, brutal insight of SPECTRE, he exposes the latter, who was eavesdropping on the meeting. Bond makes his escape after a car chase with another SPECTRE assassin Mr. Hinx. Meeting with Bond Bond later finds Mr. White, who had grown disillusioned with SPECTRE once it began dealing in human trafficking of women and children. White revealed that Blofeld had poisoned him with thallium, and that he had only days to live. White asks bond to save his daughter, Dr. Madeleine Swann, and then commits suicide. Bond and Swann head to a Moroccan hotel called L'Americain, where they find coordinates to Blofeld's main facility in the Sahara desert. While traveling there, the pair once more encounters Hinx and after a brutal fight they are able to kill the assassin. Bond and Swann arrive at the facility, but Blofeld has awaited their arrival. He reveals that he plans to take control of the world's intelligence systems through the Nine Eyes program developed by Max Denbigh (the head of the Joint Intelligence Services and one of SPECTRE's agents) and that he had arranged the '00 section to be shut down, using Denbigh's influence. Blofeld also reveals that he and SPECTRE were secretly behind the actions of Le Chiffre, White, Greene and Silva. He then plays surveillance footage of Mr. White's suicide, driving a spike between Bond's and Swann's relationship. Blofeld's henchmen knock Bond unconscious. Upon awakening, Bond finds himself strapped to a surgical chair. Blofeld attempts to lobotomize Bond, but not before he admitted that he killed his father out of jealousy against Bond. However, Swann, who has been given an exploding watch from Q Branch by Bond, uses the device to destroy the machine and seemingly kill Blofeld. Bond and Swann escape the facility before it blows up, killing the majority of Blofeld's men in the process. Final Showdown Since the Moroccan base was just one node in a wider network, Bond and Swann head back to London, where he conspires with M, Q, Bill Tanner, and Moneypenny to arrest Denbigh and stop the Nine Eyes program from going online. However, on the way, Bond is captured by several of SPECTRE's agents and taken to the derelict ruins of the old MI6 headquarters. Bond manages to kill the SPECTRE agents, and ventures inside the ruins, eventually finding Blofeld, who survived the explosion but was left with a facial scar and blinded eye. Bond tries to shoot Blofeld, only to have his bullets held at bay by the bullet-proof glass placed between them. Blofeld then reveals that he has kidnapped Swann and left her somewhere in the building, which is elaborately rigged with explosives. Blofeld gives Bond two options: either die in the explosions while trying to save Swann, or to save himself but leave Swann to die. Blofeld then enters a helicopter, which hovers over the Thames to allow Blofeld to watch Bond die. However, Bond and Swann escape seconds before the building explodes. In the meantime, Q manages to shut down Nine Eyes while M manages to finish off Denbigh, who ends up falling to his death several stories below. Arrested by MI6 Believing Bond to be dead, Blofeld, along with his personal assistant and pilot, are about to escape, unaware that Bond and Swann are pursuing them in a speedboat. After a climactic chase, Bond manages to shoot down the helicopter's fuel tanks, sending it crashing onto Westminster Bridge, severely wounding Blofeld's leg and killing both his pilot and personal assistant. Blofeld tries to crawl away from the wreckage, but is held at gunpoint by an arriving Bond. Realizing that he can't escape alive and is now at Bond's mercy, Blofeld sadistically demands to be finished off at once. However, Bond refuses by unloading his gun, fully aware that killing Blofeld out of revenge will only sink him down to the latter's level. Deciding that Blofeld is not worth the trouble, Bond walks away peacefully with Swann, leaving Blofeld to be arrested by MI6 for his crimes against humanity, a fate that Blofeld accepts with resignation. It can implied that Blofeld will be sent to prison for his crimes against humanity while Bond happily resigns from MI6 to start a new life with Swann, satisfied that his tragic past is finally put to rest. Personality Blofeld is an unpredictable, dangerous and utterly ruthless megalomaniac of the most diabolical kind. He is unbelievably resourceful, and could access vast amounts of weaponry, technology, organizations and illegal activities - in other words, he was able to create and control SPECTRE. He is an exceptionally calm and reserved person and addressed any and all problems with an insidiously relaxed manner, even if he was helpless while being held at gunpoint. He is also extremely intelligent but in all of the worst ways. He is a master of psychological warfare and could intimidate people with his very presence, and as with all of his previous incarnations, he runs SPECTRE like an absolute totalitarian and tyrannical dictator, despising those who failed or betrayed him, with Mr. White being a prime example of what happens if anybody dares to quit SPECTRE. His sophistication makes him an unbelievable strategist and enables him to outwit practically any opponent; it also makes him far-seeing and cunning to a fault, and he knew all of the details of his opponents' moves, right down to placing a bulletproof sheet of glass between him and James Bond in their final confrontation. Blofeld is also intensely sadistic, describing himself to James Bond as "the author of all his pain". Throughout the film, he ruthlessly plays a number of cruel and elaborate games with James's mind concerning his past and the people he has lost his entire life - Vesper, M, his parents, etc. Blofeld also possesses little self-preservation, despite his nefarious manner. Even when finally held at gunpoint by James, he over-confidently goaded him to pull the trigger, though James decided to spare him, knowing that he was not worth it. Quotes Gallery Blofeld-Poster.jpg|Blofeld's promo poster File:Spectre-filmszene-christoph-waltz-franz-oberhauser-cropped.jpg|Blofeld presides the SPECTRE meeting in Rome BlofeldMeteoriteRoom.png|Blofeld exposes himself to Bond and Swann in his Moroccan facility BlofeldSwannBond.png|Blofeld leads Swann and Bond to the centre of his Moroccan facility BlofeldCat.png|Blofeld petting his white cat as he surgically tortures Bond BlofeldCrawls.png|Blofeld unsuccessfully tries to escape BondLeavesBlofeld.png|Bond leaves Blofeld to be arrested by the police BlofeldDefeated.png|Blofeld watches as Bond walks away with Swann BlofeldEvilLook.png|Blofeld accepting his defeat as he is about to be placed under arrest for his crimes against humanity. Trivia *This version of Blofeld differs from the original in that he has a closer connection to Bond, being his foster brother. **Ironically enough, Dr. Evil from the Austin Powers series (who is a parody of Blofeld) was revealed to being Austin Powers' brother in the third film Austin Powers in Goldmember. *It was speculated before the film's release that Christoph Waltz was to play Blofeld, though that rumor was denied by Waltz. However, he does play Blofeld in the film. Waltz denied the rumor either because it was meant to be top secret until the film's release, or it was probably because of the fact that Andrew Scott's Max Denbigh was originally meant to be the one turning out to be Blofeld, with Waltz's Oberhauser being the secondary antagonist. It's probably most likely because the revelation of Waltz being Blofeld was meant to shock viewers (similar to how Liam Neeson as Henri Ducard in Batman Begins turning out to be one of Batman's greatest enemies, Ra's Al Ghul, surprised loads of viewers). *He was actually born as Franz Oberhauser, and after he had founded SPECTRE and murdered his father, he took up the name Ernst Stavro Blofeld. *During his military service alongside Mr. White, it was said that the two were in a conflict with a group of bandits in which their military team died and after this, Oberhauser killed the bandits and left White in the deserts, with founding SPECTRE as of the name of their military legion; Spectre. *The organisation's name SPECTRE means a ghost, a spirit. This means that the organisation members and agents were actually activated in the shadows. And the octopus motif and logo symbolizes Blofeld's behind-the-scenes reach to manipulate global events to his favor via the proxies he sends out and to dominate the world. *Blofeld is clearly the Big Bad of the entire reboot series (Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, Skyfall, and Spectre), as he is the man responsible for assigning the main threats (Le Chiffre, Mr. White, Dominic Greene, and Raoul Silva) in their plots, using them all as pawns as part of his plan to wreak psychological pain on James Bond. *His father, Hannes Oberhauser, first appeared in the short story Octopussy, as his death is the reason Bond gets involved in tracking down Dexter Smythe, the story's antagonist. However, Hannes and Blofeld were not related in the novel continuity. *In order to create Blofeld's hideous facial scar, the film's producers used CGI and not makeup as the filmmakers of the old Bond films did with Blofeld. *By far, he is the darkest version of Blofeld ever, as he loves to play elaborate but sadistic mind games with 007 in an effort to break him psychologically, and as well as one of the two villains (and the only main villain) in the reboot series who are considered as Pure Evil (the other is General Medrano). Also unlike the other main villains (who all die in the end), he is the only main villain to be arrested and taken into custody for his crimes. *The scar Blofeld receives from Bond's exploding watch is a reference to a similar scar that Donald Pleasence's incarnation of Blofeld has in You Only Live Twice. However, unlike the former film, the origin of his disfigurement is not only revealed but also shown on screen. *Upon the film's release, Christoph Waltz had received widespread critical acclaim for his performance as Blofeld, being commented as "classic, menacing and original Bond villain". *It is rumored that Christoph Waltz will return in the next Bond film which presumed title is Shatterhand, which will also be the last time Daniel Craig will play 007, this could mean that it would be the final encounter between Bond and Blofeld and may result in Blofeld's death. *As Quantum was revealed to be a division within SPECTRE this would support the idea that Quantum member Dominic Greene was executed by a hitman on Blofeld's orders. *Although he is the main antagonist of the film, he has just small screen time. *Blofeld reminds Bond of how he got interfered in Blofeld's world and destroyed his world implies that Bond's foiling of Quantum's Tierra project lead Blofeld to enlist Silva to destroy MI6. 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